Everyone needs saving
by denebtenoh
Summary: When Lightning finds her alter ego, the worst mistake she can make is let her guard down. She did it, and had to bear with the consequences. In her last moments, her numbed mind thinks of a specific someone to save her, but not without a prize.
1. Chapter 1

EVERYONE NEEDS SAVING.

Lightning feels so weak, she is barely able to stand on her feet, so weak that sometimes she even has to lean over the ancient stonewalls of the Temple of Etro to prevent her fall, as black blood oozes from the magical wound Caius had inflicted on her.

She doesn´t know how it could´ve happened, nor how could´ve she let her guard down in such a stupid way, but what had made the matters worse, was that she had diminished the problem. In her mind, she still wants to justify herself with the fact that, after the blow, the pain had receded quite fast, and though she had definitely felt the depletion of her stamina, it had been barely perceptible, so she had dismissed the event as a non-immediate threat, and rushed to meet her eternal foe.

It had been mistake after mistake.

After several minutes running all around over the intricate maze the ruins became, fighting monsters and having her mind confused by the many Yeuls, she realizes too late the true implications of the curse: she can see them now, trails of black blood left behind in every step she takes, small fragments of her strength and her own life taking color and texture.

And now, standing face to face with her sworn enemy, she regrets her naivety and her foolishness. Caius hadn´t wasted the opportunity to kill her in a single blow: he always wanted to see her like this, coming to him debilitated, at his mercy, almost on her knees, so he could laugh at her before striking the fatal blow. But she wouldn´t have any of that.

"Right…"

By sheer will, Lightning straightens her posture, her stand that of pride and power, before meeting Caius´s threat.

"I will save your soul… even if it´s against your will."

Caius only smirks at her and raises his immense blade, attacking with all his strength.

She redirects the killing blow with her sword, all too weakened to counterattack, and Caius retaliates with a strike that clashes with her blade, producing sparkles for the friction, and sending her reeling backwards. Blow after blow, she sees herself being forced to take defensive strategies, as dark blood makes intricate patterns in the floor beneath them. Blow after blow, she also notices how her body begins to give up on her. Sweat forms on her forehead, and she feels her muscles protesting, refusing to act as she forces them to, as fast as she needs them to.

Caius smirks, knowingly. With a swift movement, he breaks her guard open with another strike, immediately redirecting the blade´s trajectory for the fatal blow. Lightning notices the intent, but her muscles this time completely abdicate on her, and she comes too late to stop the attack, as Caius´s massive sword strikes her chest full force, tearing apart her front black armor, breaking her savior insignia, and opening a deep cut right on her cleavage, fracturing her sternum and clavicle. Lightning staggers backwards, pain clouding her vision for a moment, utter disbelief plastered on her countenance, as bright red blood pours from the wound, mixing with the black one coming from her left breast, just over her heart, and tainting with crimson and black, the beautiful white cloth of her Providence garb.

Still stunned, Lightning looks up, azure orbs wide open, just to receive a direct kick on the jaw that sends her crashing against the wall, and she falls on her knees, one hand gripping her blade hard, the other embedding her fingernails on the floor, as the ancient rocks beneath her are bathed with her blood, the bright crimson and the darkened one. She breathes in and out repeatedly, trying to focus her sight and to recover her strength, but she knows it´s a lost cause, as she feels cold tremors running down her spine, and her sight blackens for a split second.

A pair of large boots approach her, but she refuses to look up. She wouldn´t have the strength to see the smirk on her enemy´s face, even though she perceives his movement, the moment he raises the blade to deliver the killing blow. This is the second time he takes advantage of her in such a dirty way… or could she call it dirty, really? He took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself. Advantage of the mistakes _she _had made. It´s war after all, isn´t he supposed to do that?

_Serah…_

She can hear the wind whistling the moment he lowers his blade, straight to her neck, and she grasps the emblem over her chest, the broken, parted in half emblem that had represented her power.

But she´s _the Lightning_. _The Savior!_ How could she die?! Serah depends on her! The world depends on her!

_I can´t die here! I won´t die here! I´ve gotta see Serah!_

As if responding to her words, she´s suddenly surrounded by a blinding light, that immediately turns a deep foggy black, and the Chaos envelops her whole, entering her lungs and obstructing her sight, and she feels herself floating for a few seconds, only to fall on her knees over a soft, hot ground that hurts her palms and her knees, the air so warm it almost burns her lungs. With her free hand, she clutches her chest and feels the impossible pain still ripping her off. The fatal wound is still there, and unless she does something, she´ll die. Lightning looks up, but the intensity of the sunrays reflects everywhere she turns, blinding her, refusing her any possibility of orientation.

_I-I´ve gotta…_

She doesn´t finish the thought, her mind going numb, but her determination lingers, and so she clutches her blade tighter and grits her teeth, as she gathers all her will to force her body to stand, helping herself up with the other hand clutching her knee. Laboriously, the effort coming as a titanic accomplishment, she manages to stand upright on both legs, only to fall head first onto the warm sand, already unconscious, her mixed blood intertwining with the warm sand and forming a muddy pool underneath her, as her last thought goes to her sister´s memory.

_Serah… I´m going to see you soon…_

ooooOOOOOOXIIIOOOOOooooo

Fang has to accept she´s somewhat stalling her moment of departure. She´s not sure why, since she already knows there´s an urgent need of being in Luxerion to prevent any single ritual to happen. Though she´s well aware they won´t be doing anything until the appointed day, she has to collect everything and everyone she might need in order to succeed. But for the love of Etro, she cannot allow herself to leave this walls, where she had find the most sense of peace she´s had in decades.

"Boss! Boss!"

It´s Adonis who rushes inside, interrupting her train of thoughts.

"What is it, man? Do you really have to barge in without previous warning? What if I´m all naked?"

Against his will, the man blushes at the image her words have put on his brain, but shakes his head to focus.

"S-sorry boss, but I think you should come. It´s the Savior, we had words from the outpost that she´s come to the Dead Dunes."

The warrior turns around, trying to hide the smile that plays on her lips, and feigning nonchalance.

"So what? Let her come, I´m not all that happy with her. The only thing I´ll do is demand an explanation for her behavior. It was her doing that I lost the Clavis." Fang sits on her chair, all angry and flustered.

"I really think you should come, boss. They say she´s injured, and that it´s serious."

"What?" All her anger forgotten, Fang immediately rises from her spot, rushing towards the door. "Why didn´t you say so in the first place?" She passes by the man, pushing him aside on her rush. As they arrive at the lounge, Fang immediately recognizes the white garb and pink locks, but the moment her eyes take the whole picture, her face contorts in a mask of worry. Lightning is unconscious, her limp body tenderly resting on Bigg´s arms, one of the thieves she had met in Yuusnan, who, uncharacteristic of his hard and rough mannerism, is carrying her with too much care, as if she were made of crystal and he were scared of breaking her. Fang´s eyes meet with the man´s, and she can see how utterly terrified and sad he seems, a haunted expression plastered on his face, and the woman can´t do nothing but sympathize.

"Boss… she´s…"

Fang only nods, but can´t believe what she´s seeing as she approaches. With her head resting on the thief´s shoulder, Lightning´s eyes are closed tightly, her countenance that of deep pain, and her once white and pristine garb is tainted with blood all over, red and black covering most of her clothes, contrasting with the deep paleness of her already pale skin.

"Bring her to my room. And send for the sorcerer. We´ll need all the help we can get."

As the thief does her bidding, Fang lingers, interested in the pool of blood the woman had left behind. There, she can see the distinct texture, the mixing of bloods, and she can sense too something dark emanating from it.

_I might not be a savior, or a priestess for that matter, but I´ll be damned if this is not done by Chaos. _She clenches her teeth in worry._ Helping Lightning is gonna be harder than I thought._

As she arrives at her dormitory, Fang finds it hard to enter, since the door is already crowded with many thieves, trying to get a look at the dying Savior.

"Off with your curiosity! Only females are allowed here!"

Many male thieves moan, but immediately comply, their obedience coming partly out of respect, partly out of fear, and Fang is finally able to make it inside. Lightning is already resting on her humble bed, blood still coming out of her injuries. Fang frowns, and without further ado, she rips off the clothes and unceremoniously tosses the remnants on the floor, as she eyes the five female thieves that remained in the room. Without words needed, they immediately follow her desires, and help Fang to free the wounded Savior from her now useless armor. They proceed with swiftness but with care, until they strip Lightning off completely, leaving only her black panties, her semi naked body being immediately covered with a silk cloth.

Now Fang can see, the trail of open flesh that travels up from her right ribs and into her left shoulder, drawing a deep wound that, as they apply wet towels to clean the blood, sometimes they can take glimpses of bone. As they make their way into cleansing the soft skin from blood, the raven haired woman discovers the intricate wound over the pale left breast, where she once set eyes on the brand of the l´Cie curse. In its place, now there´s an opening of the flesh, in the form of an ill-drawn star, that produces black dense smoke, and that still oozes dark blood, no matter how much they cleanse it.

_Oh Lightning… what in the word of Etro happened to you?_

"Boss, the sorcerer is here."

"Let him through, and continue the cleansing of her wounds." She rises from her spot, and without previous warning, threateningly takes the man by the collar, bringing his face very close to hers. "There´s something I want to tell you. You see, not only I´m the boss of this place, but more specially, she´s a very dear friend of mine. So you can imagine what will happen to _you_ if something where to happen to _her…"_

"I-I´ll do my best… B-boss! I swear no my life." The man stutters his response but tries to be reassuring, and she releases him slowly.

As the sorcerer inspect the wounds, Fang gives the supine woman a look of despair, and turns around in a rush, stepping out of the ruins, the air feeling suddenly too dense for her to breathe.

Twilight is falling upon them already, and the still hot air fills Fang´s lungs, somewhat refreshing her. The tall Pulsian inhales deeply and frowns, not knowing her next curse of action, until she decides to just go for a stroll. Fang walks slowly, following the path of the west, her thoughts a complete turmoil, as she seeks calmness in the light of the dying sun.

"She´s so amazing, isn´t she? I bet so many people would be heartbroken if she were to die…"

Her thoughts interrupted by the childish voice, Fang stops her strides and sighs in tiredness.

"What do you want, Lumina? As you can see, I´m not in a mood for your pranks."

"Aww c´mon, Fangy, it´s been quite a while now since last I saw you. I´m sure you missed me."

"Nope, not in the least." Angrily, the woman turns around to face her talker. "Spit it out already. What do you want now?"

The azure eyed pouts mockingly, tilting her head to one side, as she gingerly circles the angry warrior. "Oh Fang… I´m hurt. Don´t you think I´m only here because I´m concerned about Lightning´s well being?"

Her words set Fang´s anger on fire, and she makes her crimson blade to dance menacingly towards the girl.

"Don´t you dare place a hand on her, because I swear I´ll split your little throat in two."

But Lumina is far too fast for the woman, so she jumps backwards, avoiding the blades, and shakes a finger mockingly.

"Now now, that´s being plain rude, Fangy. I came here in good terms."

"I really don´t care what you claim your intentions to be. If it´s you, it´s got to be bad intentions. Just give me one more reason, and I sure as hell will give you that spanking you´ve earned for centuries."

Lumina laughs heartily this time. "Well wouldn´t you want that? That´s for sure a wish coming from your heart!" The girl laughs some more, making Fang seethe in anger, but the woman fights not to fall in her game and just ignores her. "I´m sorry to disappoint you, Fangy, but that´s something _you_ won´t be doing soon. But pushing all foolishness aside, I came to warn you: I know of a deeper desire that rests inside of you, and that _right now_ you´re refusing to accept."

Fang smirks at her words, shielding the bloody lance once more. "If you´re talking about the Clavis, I think you came too late, my wish to prevent Vanille from performing the Soulsong is already out in the open, and known by everyone, even the Savior."

"Ooooh… our dear Savior…" Lumina flaps her eyelashes mockingly, "yes, I indeed know she´s already aware of your true intentions, but I´m sure _you _don´t know something. The moment she saw you, especially after your cold reception, the Chaos around her shifted. Your previous encounter actually made me wonder if hiding your feelings from her could´ve hurt her at all?" She lets the words linger for a moment, and then sighs. "But I´m sure you know I´m not talking about _that."_

Fang raises a delicate eyebrow, weary of asking the question. The stretched silence makes Lumina giggle, understanding all too easily the woman´s concern.

"Bingo! I think you already know what I´m talking about."

"No. Not a clue. So if you´re not gonna say any coherent thing today, you´ll have to excuse me but I have a guest to attend."

"Ah yes… you´re soooo wishing to see those beautiful blue eyes open, right?" the sweet honey embedded on the girl´s voice sends shivers down Fang´s back, and her senses speak of danger. But against her best judgment, the raven haired warrior speaks up her mind.

"I don´t like your tone, Lumina. What´s this circus about?"

The young girl approaches the warrior once more, playful steps making circles around the tall figure.

"I´ve always wondered why do you like Lightning this much, you know?" Lumina looks intently at Fang, who eyes her with her most deadly glare, but the girl just giggles. "I mean, it can´t be her hair nor her eyes, after all, Serah and I have those too, and you hate my guts, so, it can´t be those." The girl takes several steps more around the woman, one finger over her lips, mocking a thoughtful pose, as she keeps her piercing stare on the tall warrior.

"Why are you suddenly so interested in my tastes? I´m starting to wonder if you have a crush on me."

Fang teases her, but the playful and enigmatic look that Lumina sends her makes her even more weary, though the girl continues her monologue as if she hadn´t been interrupted.

"It could be her body. Have you seen it? Seen her naked? She is absolutely beautiful, isn´t she? Her perfectly formed curves, modeled with those toned muscles, make her body appear as if chiseled by a master artist…" Lumina sighs teasingly, as she clasps her hands in front of her chest. "She´s like a dream come true…"

The images evoked by her words involuntarily make Fang blush, which sets her anger anew, and she storms towards the building, only to be stopped by Lumina who steps in front of her, blue eyes fiercely piercing hers, a devilish smile on her features.

"But of course not! Silly me. It _is_ her _eyes_! Those eyes so full of fire and determination and power. And I bet it´s her cold and strong personality too, who speaks of no regrets, no turning back, no defeat."

Fang growls, and her reaction brings a triumphant smile on Lumina´s lips.

"But I do wonder. Would you love her if you knew she´s not the same Lightning you met centuries ago? She might not be human anymore, you know?"

"I know that." Fang tries to walk away again, but Lumina stands on her path once more, icy blue eyes blazing with excitement.

"But the most important issue is, would you still love her this much, if you ever see her weak, scared, defeated? Have you ever seen her cry like a child?"

Fang smirks this time, and bends just a little at the waist, to bring her face closer to the girl´s.

"Well, I have some news for you: what you said seems rather a description of your petty self, and guess what? She´s not _you,_ Lumina. But if you must know, I´ve _already _seen her weak, scared and defeated; I have seen her at her worst, and my feelings haven´t changed at all. So, if you´re done with your childish babbling, I´d rather go see if my friend is better, than to spend another minute with you, silly girl."

With that, Fang walks away from her, leaving Lumina alone, wishing she would ponder the mean words she has thrown at her. But knowing the spoiled brat, her words must´ve hit deaf ears.

_For all that I care…_

"She´s the Savior, remember?" Lumina calls on her once more, emotion on her voice. "She´s come to this world to make all of our wishes come true, no matter how small or deep inside us they are. Her mission is to save us through the accomplishment of our deepest desires." The girl raises her voice to be heard, just close to yelling, but Fang only growls and shakes her head, refusing to acknowledge her anymore. "Even _yours_ Fangy! Don´t forget that when you see her!"

Fang doesn´t turn around, not even once, angry and flustered to no end, so she misses the small, soft smile that illuminates the pinkette´s lips, replacing for a moment the sarcastic grin usually plastered on the girl´s face.

ooooOOOOOXIIIOOOOoooo

A/N: I think this is my first Flight fic that I write, though it won´t be long, I´m actually planning only two chapters (though honestly, I´m not sure, I tend to prolong the stories too much). I think we can take a wild guess as to what is Fang´s deepest desire, but whether she´ll get it or not we´ll have to wait to know it.

Biggs is one of the thieves that challenges Lightning to their trials, back in Yusnaan, and who later acclaims her when she overcomes their most dangerous trial. I exaggerated a little bit his reaction, by having him worshipping her, so you can imagine his feelings when he carries in his arms a defeated and dying Lightning.

About Lumina, well… I REALLY adored that girl, I mean, how could you not hate her guts? XD but adored even more the fact that I had suspected Lumina would end up being Lightning herself, and the idea made me wonder how had she interacted with Lightning´s most precious friends. We know that she took care of Sazh, and that always pissed off Snow (XD good for her!), and also that she became best friends with Vanille (I swear, that girl could be friends with a Chocobo Eater!), but they never said anything about Fang, so I hope you like the way she teases her too. I wanted her to be a bit of the teasing-helping that she always procures to Lightning, meaning that she cares for Fang as well, maybe not as the Flight fans would like, she might be too young for that (maybe… she seems like a 13-year-old, so why not some sort of hero-worship?) but she still cares.

I really hope you liked it. Words and comments are always welcomed!


	2. Retaliation

Everyone Needs Saving.

Chapter 2.

Disclaimer: I don´t own final fantasy XIII nor any of it´s awesome characters.

ooooOOOOOXIIIOOOOoooooo

"Will she live?"

The voice sounds so anguished, that it makes Biggs and Ramón, the closest sorcerer they could conjure in the Dead Dunes, to turn around and find the source: it´s very hard for them to believe those words where truly spoken from their fearless leader. But the woman in front of them doesn´t seem so fearless anymore. Her eyes seem to be looking straight at the end of the world, straight at the dark abyss, emerald orbs full of ominous thoughts as Fang stares at the immobile figure of the Savior, currently lying on the worn out bed, her lithe and athletic frame illuminated by the dancing lights of a couple of candles. The moment Fang notices their stares, though, she shakes her head slightly, and then glares at both men in defiance.

There she is.

Their fearless leader is back.

But nonetheless, the look on those emerald eyes burns inside Bigg´s memory, who at least has the decency to look sheepish. The thief knows he´s no one to judge, since he himself wants to cry, so he just lowers his head out of respect, his dark eyes falling on the pinkette.

"She has high possibilities to live, if she doesn´t move an inch from her bed," Ramón answers Fang´s question, "but she´ll need a lot of time to recover, and a lot of tending and nursing." As the woman approaches, the tanned man removes the silk sheet that covers Lightning´s body, to let the brunette see.

The first thing that calls Fang´s attention is the pinkette´s chest completely enveloped in clean bandages, no blood nor smoke tainting them, though she can notice Lightning´s skin still paler than usual, and her breathing still seeming laborious.

"I applied a variety of concoctions over the wound, and bandaged her so that it will stop bleeding, at least until she´s conscious enough to drink some health potions, but Boss…" he pauses to sigh, exhausted and concerned, "the wound is deep, her sternum is fractured in two. She´s lucky her chest didn´t burst open right on spot." Fang flinches at the image that his words conjure on her mind. "The Savior needs a few days to rest, needs for that wound to close, or else she´ll die, no matter what we do."

The tall Pulsian snorts sadly at his recommendation.

"I don´t think our almighty Savior will like the idea of resting a couple of days, if you mind me saying."

Ramón sighs and stands up on his feet, his movements reflecting obvious tiredness.

"Well, that I can´t solve. It´s up to her… and to you, Boss."

"M-me?" she stammers at his words. "What do you mean _me_? I can´t take care of her!" After her outburst, Fang immediately composes herself, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "But, don´t worry, I´ll have your patient being attended by a couple of…"

"Thieves?" The man interrupts her. "With all due respect, Boss, she needs someone who´ll look after her, but also, someone she´ll want to come back to. Not a couple of strangers." A pause, where Fang´s eyes meet Lightning´s weakened frame once more. "She does need you, Boss, if what you told us previously, that she´s a very dear friend of yours, was anywhere near the truth."

"But I´ve never taken care of anyone!" Fang protests further. "It´s always been Vanille the one doing all the nursing and healing work!"

"Well, I figured you´d be important for her," the sorcerer tries not to smile at witnessing the tantrum his powerful leader seems to be throwing, "since the Savior called out your name once, in between all her babbling. Though she did call another name quite frequently."

"Serah…" Fang says in a whisper, knowing how important the name must be for the Savior.

"Yes! That one! But she called yours too, so I imagined you must mean something for her as well."

Fang sighs, emotions running wild. "There was a time when I used to think that too…"

Both men choose to ignore that last, sad statement, and do as if not noticing her slip.

"Well Boss. This is my recommendation. But I´m merely a servant: It´s your call." The tanned man places a reassuring hand over her shoulder, and gestures to the thief to follow him. Biggs nods at him and kneels in front of Lightning. The thief respectfully inclines his head and closes his eyes for a full minute, as if on prayer, and then gets up to face the raven haired woman.

"If you allow us, Boss, we´ll take our leave, to let you both rest." Biggs offers, and follows the sorcerer. Fang doesn´t address any of them, but thanks both men silently for respecting her needs. She sits on the bed, her eyes fixed on Lightning´s pale features.

After the men step out of the room, Fang welcomes the silence and stillness that fall upon them, her eyes taking in each detail of Lightning´s face, as if she still can´t believe the woman has comeback to them. To _her. _After a moment that seems like an eternity, her mind wanders through different thoughts, until the turmoil is just too much to endure, and she finally speaks her mind to the slumbering pinkette.

"I know that man, you know? Biggs." Fang talks to Lightning, getting as an only response the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. "He´s one of the biggest scoundrel I´ve met in my many centuries of life. One humongous headache for me, he´s always been, ever since I founded the Monoculus gang, and one of the biggest thick-headed men I´ve had to endure, second only to Snow." She shakes her head. "But then you come, and it takes you just one single fucking day to break him." She chuckles at the thought. "That´s like you, alright. I´m sure he´s now creating a whole new cult dedicated to _you, _the Almighty, Albeautiful Lightning_._" The silence that answers her words makes the Pulsian sigh, breaking the mood. "But now, after expecting so much out of you, after _witnessing_ your miraculous deeds up close and personal, now I have to see you completely still, lying there in my bed, all broken and injured, and I just…" frustrated, Fang passes her fingers through her dark wavy hair, exhaling deeply. "What am I gonna do with you, Sunshine? How am I supposed to take care of you, when it´s you the one who should be taking care of _me_?" silence meets her once more, but this time Fang welcomes it, welcomes the freedom to try and unravel her entangled thoughts. After several minutes of stillness and silence, Fang finally notices her eyes had been staring at Lightning´s full lips the whole time. As she realizes this, Lumina´s words come at her like a wave.

_Her mission is to save us through the accomplishment of our deepest desires... Even yours, Fangy!_

"My deepest desires?" She speaks to herself. "My deepest…?" She looks at the rosy, parted lips once more, and a small smile is drawn on her face. "Would it be such a surprise that you know which one is my deepest desire, Sunshine?" She inclines a little bit further and whispers, as if talking confidentially. "Would you make it come true? Or would you strike me with a death glare, like the ones you used to hide your embarrassment, whenever I caught you staring at me?" She pauses as the memory assaults her mind, and smiles a bit more, while she follows the rhythm of the slumbering woman´s breath. "And which is _your_ deepest desire, mmmh?" Teasingly, Fang approaches further, and small details on the woman´s lips she hadn´t noticed before, claim her attention: their fullness, the way her lower lip is sensually broader than the upper one, how the color is returning to them slowly but surely, how they´re slightly parted… Fang notices her body has been moving on its own accord, approaching closer to the sleeping beauty, and her own lips are but an inch apart from Lightning´s…

But before she makes the so desired contact, Fang stops, and, after a moment of hesitation, she groans and pulls away. The raven haired woman feels angry at herself for not being brave enough to do it, to close the gap.

_What would be the fun of it?_ The warrior sighs as she rises from the bed, her green eyes still fixed on Lightning´s face. _What would mean a kiss like this, if I don´t know whether you´ll kiss back…?_

The tall Pulsian shakes her head in anger and sadness.

"Wake up soon, Lightning. I´m so wishing to see that reaction of yours…" she brushes the woman´s hand with her fingertips, and walks away towards the small place the thieves had prepared for her to spend the night on watch.

oooooOOOOXIIIOOOOooooo

Darkness meets her as Fang´s eyes open up with a start. She tries to adapt her sight to the black surroundings, while the rest of her senses enhance tenfold. Something had retrieved her from her dreamless sleep, and the stillness of the night makes her even wearier. Slowly, trying to not make any sound, she reaches out to grab Kain´s Lance´s body, and doesn´t feel safe until her calloused fingertips brush the rough surface of the weapon. A moment passes by, where the only sound is that of her own heartbeat running fast in expectation, when a low moan makes her skin prickle in surprise. Her ears strain to hear further, and suddenly the plaintive moan repeats itself, followed by a soft brush of clothing. Slowly, cautiously, Fang straightens from her supine position, and the third moan allows her to place the source: Lightning seems to be tossing and turning in her nightmare, small moans and grunts escaping from her lips.

"Sunshine? Are you ok?"

But in the almost complete darkness of her room, Fang can barely perceive the woman´s tortured frame, so she runs to turn up a small torch near them, and once she does, she notices Lightning´s face all flushed, darkened pink locks glued to her skin, as a cold sweat covers her whole. Her eyes are tightly shut, as if in deep pain, and the sheet that had been placed over her body, currently lies at the feet of the bed, barely covering the pinkette´s legs, which allows Fang to see the small dark fume escaping from the woman´s bandaged chest.

"Lightning! Lightning! Wake up! It´s just a nightmare!" Worried, Fang tries to raise her friend, to wake her up, but the contact makes her flinch, as she perceives the extremely high temperature the soft skin is transmitting, and immediately places the back of her hand over the pinkette´s sweaty forehead. "Damn! She´s got a fever!" Without missing a beat, Fang runs out of the room and grabs by the collar, the slumbering guard outside her door, who jumps at the aggressive treatment.

"Go fetch the sorcerer! Now!"

Startled, the man only nods, eyes wide open, and stumbling, he rushes outside to seek for the man.

Once Ramón arrives, she immediately drags him in, and the man kneels in front of the sick woman, inspecting the bandages.

"I need to see the wound, Boss. But my guess would be the main problem is the magical wound… it seems it won´t respond to my treatment."

Fang nods her approval and the man proceeds to inspect the pinkette. After a moment, the brunette´s anxiety peaks.

"So? What do we do?"

But Ramón doesn´t answer her, too concentrated on cautiously unwrapping the bandages that protect the chest. But at the first release of one of the clothes, a fast and menacing hand, with long fingers forming a claw, makes its way into the man´s throat, entrapping him, denying him any oxygen into his lungs.

"What have you done to me…?!" Husky, dangerous voice reaches their ears as Fang´s eyes open wide in surprise.

"Lightning! Stop!"

The Savior is awake, but at the moment she doesn´t look anywhere near the savior they had been expecting. Lightning´s bloodshot eyes are full of rage, full of violence, as she stares into the man´s darkened and terrified ones. With her hand still trapping his windpipe, she tries painfully to rise from her spot, as she brings Ramon´s face closer to hers, whispering menacingly another threat.

"Undo what you´ve done to me, or I swear I´ll rip off that throat of yours…"

The man tries desperately to explain or deny her accusations, but he isn´t able to speak at all, only to shake his head slightly and make grunting sounds, his skin becoming bluer by the second. Her grip on him is very tight, and not even with both hands is he able to free himself, futile efforts consuming the little oxygen he has left. Nonetheless, his clinical senses are still connected, so he feels impressed by the extremely high temperature her whole body seems to be emanating.

"Lightning! No!"

Fang comes to the rescue, clutching the hand tight and fighting to open the grip, but it seems to be useless, and the man shows all the signs to start falling into unconsciousness. As a last resort, Fang punches the other woman in the jaw, forcing her to release the sorcerer, who falls to the floor almost limp, coughing, desperately struggling to take in some air, as Fang drags him as far away as possible from the shorter woman, but without loosing visual contact with Lightning.

"What´s wrong with you?!"

Azure eyes open wide at discovering Fang´s frame, and then become like slits, raw fury pooling on them. "You…!"

Lightning, her lower lip bleeding, slowly and painfully raises from the bed, her stare dangerously fixed on emerald eyes, and the intensity embedded on them is immediately perceived by the Pulsian warrior.

"Lightning wake up! It´s me! It´s us! You don´t have to do this!"

But the pinkette, already on her feet and adopting a combat position, glares at the taller woman, husky voice full of threat.

"Of all the people I could think would betray me, you were the last of my list, Fang… how could you do that to me?!"

"B-betray you?"

Emerald eyes open wide in surprise at the accusation, but she can´t do any further questioning, since Lightning attacks with a strike directed at her jaw, which Fang avoids quite easily. The weakness is evident in Lightning, as she staggers after throwing the punch, and Fang has to resist the urge of stretching out her hand to help the shorter woman gain her equilibrium.

But fortunately she doesn´t need to. Aided with one hand over the nearest table, Lightning stabilizes herself, as she sends her deadliest glare over Fang, but its overall effect is lessened by Lightning´s ragged breathing, and by evident tremors that run all over her body.

"I don´t know what you´re talking about, Sunshine! For Etro´s sake I don´t know!"

"Don´t call me that! Don´t you ever call me like that again!"

If possible, Lightning grows angrier, the strain of her voice showing the intensity of her emotions.

"You were my friend, Fang! No… You were _more than _my friend! Of all the people I thought would support me, you were at the top." Gasping for air, and flinching for the effort, Lightning lowers her voice, making it seem as if every single word were a threat. "But knowing that you followed me into the ruins, not to aid me but because you _distrusted me_, hurt a thousand times more than having to cross swords with that dickhead of Snow!" She spats the last words, and clutches her chest tight, the pain over her heart intensifying.

Fang flinches at her words. She can see it now: all that rage and violence carry with them Lightning´s hurt feelings, and the depth of her emotions hits the warrior full force, harder than any punch she could receive.

As if the pain were boosting her rage and strength, Lightning manages to take an axe fixed on the wall, and attacks Fang full force. The woman, her crimson weapon already secured on her back, receives the strike with her lance without effort. But the violence of the impact is far beyond what she had been expecting. The strike produces sparks at the contact of the weapons, and resonates through their arms, making the dark haired woman open her eyes wide in surprise.

_Damn! If this is the strength of a sick, wounded Savior, I really wouldn´t want to face her in her prime!_

Fang redirects the attack to the side, and considers making a counterattack to finish the battle as soon as possible, for Lightning´s and her own sake. With that thought in mind, she takes an offensive position, when suddenly she feels her feet entrapped by a hand. The Pulsian lowers her eyes and finds Ramon kneeled in front of her, clutching his throat and making a hard effort to talk to her.

"D-don´t… Boss… she´s not thinking… clearly…" with a rasped voice, the man´s dark eyes look up at emerald ones, the strain too obvious for him. "She´s delirious… the fever… is too high… she´s not sweating at all… not cooling at all… she´s near shock…" He coughs some more, forcing his throat to obey. "And her wound… look at her wound, Boss… we need to…"

But he isn´t able to finish his sentence, since Lightning attacks both of them, clashing her weapon against Fang´s with brute force. The tall Pulsian receives the attack and flinches at the unusual strength embedded in it, then retaliates, sending a barrel of blows against the pinkette. She knows she´s not fast enough for Lightning, who rejects every strike she sends towards her, but at least Fang manages to force the pinkette as far away from Ramon as possible, as she tries herself to be heard.

"Lightning! Stop this madness! I explained it to you already! I had to do it! For Vanille!"

A flash of rage in Lightning´s azure eyes makes Fang realize her choosing of words had been a total mistake.

"Vanille! It´s always for Vanille! I´m tired of it, Fang, I´m fucking tired of you both!"

Lightning strikes with renewed strength, and Fang is just barely able to avoid the hit on her shoulder, as the ax embeds itself on her table. Behind the violence imbued in each attack, the tall Pulsian can see how difficult it is for the pinkette to yield the weapon, not only for her flinching as she whirls around the ax, but for the obvious crimson staining on the once pristine bandages. The wound seems to be opening, and the pain must be unbearable. Nonetheless, all of it seems to do nothing to the Savior´s stamina, since the attacks keep coming at full force.

Fang wants to stop this, stop the injuring of her friend (and the possibility of having her own head separated from her shoulders), but the pinkette seems to be too enthralled on making her pay, on taking out all her anger and hurt, all her frustration. Sadly, the raven haired woman can relate to that.

Another clashing of the weapons makes Fang´s arms feel numb for a moment, and, for the first time in all the years of sparring sessions and multiple battles, she truly starts to fear for her life, as Lightning hurls towards her, both arms raised above her in a powerful attack.

"Please Lightning, stop! I never meant to hurt you! I never thought…" but a set of blows silence her, as she is forced to move fast to avoid them. Soon, Fang will be forced to attack with all her strength too, and it would mean hurting Lightning even more…

"I would never bring up such a lame apology to Lightning, you know? Particularly not now that she can´t think clearly." Lumina makes her appearance next to them, cocky grin still plastered on her features. "See that smoke coming from her chest? It´s a curse, a very horrible curse."

Another blow, and Fang just barely makes in on time before she´s sliced in two.

"I know it´s a curse!" She growls in anger. "Tell me something I don´t know! What is it doing to her? How can I help her?!"

Lumina smiles teasingly at both women, but says nothing else, as she walks around them from a prudent distance, a cautious spectator of their dangerous game. Lightning slashes downwards at Fang, making the weapons clash again and producing sparks, as the taller Pulsian receives the blow with her lance in a horizontal defense, each woman trying to force the other backwards. While both friends struggle against each other, Lumina places herself right behind Fang, so that she can look straight at a pair of azure eyes fixed furiously on the taller woman´s face, while she whispers softly and tauntingly over raven locks.

"Her heart is full of Chaos, Fangy. Can´t you see the maleficent glimmer in her eyes? The Chaos is the reason why only her darkest emotions are flooding out. I warned you, didn´t I?"

Fang wants to ask further, but fails to perceive Lightning´s icy blue eyes opening wide in surprise at noticing Lumina´s presence, apparently for the first time. The release of the pressure over her weapon takes the Pulsian by surprise, and the scream that follows after, sends her instinct going on rampage.

"LUMINA!"

The scream makes Lumina jump, startled, and she gives a step backwards in surprise. Lightning jumps a couple of feet from the girl, gathering every ounce of magic she can conjure, and immediately sends a powerful blast towards the shorter pinkette.

The first thing the warrior feels is the chill that closes on them, and Fang recognizes the power of an areora spell directed at the girl. Lumina is really fast, but no one is faster than Lightning, so when the girl opens her azure eyes wide in surprise and tries to avoid the hit, the attack is already closing on her, her terror so absolute, that she fails to try a way out inside the Chaos. Fortunately for Lumina, she´s only a step away from Fang, who jumps at the girl and protects her with her own body, receiving the blunt of the attack. The powerful spell surrounds Fang and Lumina, and they both are sent up in the air in a whirlwind, bringing along with them everything it can: furniture, small weapons, everything that isn´t fixed on the floor or not heavy enough to resist the attack, which makes Fang protectively envelop Lumina´s body with her arms. They both fly around the room, hitting every wall and being hit with almost everything that had been caught in the maelstrom, and that now flies alongside them. Fang curls into a ball, trying to protect herself and the girl as much as possible, when the power of the curse begins to fade and she dares to open her eyes. The first thing she notices is that the wind has turned almost red, crimson drops floating all around them.

_B-blood? But whose…? _

The last thing Fang manages to see is Lightning´s frame collapsing on the ground, before something hard hits her head and she falls, enveloped in darkness.

oooOOOOXIIIOOOOoooo

A/N: How curious! This story was thought to be a one-shot, but it has already two chapters and will have probably more! (don´t think too many, though).

Wow! I hadn´t been expecting that response from Lightning! But well, can you really blame her? She did look disappointed with Fang´s treatment of her in the game, (man! I was actually spatting back at Fang! With all that negative sarcasm and making fun of her being the Savior… I honestly wanted so much to slap her!) so I thought that Lightning´d probably would want to make her pay. Though maybe I overdid it a bit XD. Also, Lightning never attacks Lumina in the game, but o boy! Did she look like she was dying to! XDDD so I felt like giving her that release at least once; poor Lumina! Such a scare she took!

Ramón is the merchant Lightning finds on her journey over the Dead Dunes, the one who had lost all interest on his work after his wife´s death. I thought that, if he really was as good as his competitor had said, he could as well be some sort of sorcerer. I thought he was sweet, so I included him in the story so that he could return the favor to Lightning.

Hope you enjoyed readying as much as I enjoyed writing it!

For those who left unsigned reviews, here´s my answer:

Anon: I´m so glad you´re liking the idea so far! Thank you for your comment! I know their first interaction maybe wasn´t what you had expected, but hopefully it´ll still keep you interested!


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